IANNIS XENAKIS : Works for Piano (Aki Takahashi) (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Known for drawing unusual sonorities from conventional instruments, Xenakis strangely left the piano's potential for novel sounds unexplored. In these works, Xenakis stays on the keyboard without so much as a plucked string or any use of gadgetry to alter the instrument's sound. Although that might make these pieces appear less radical, even "safe," Xenakis exploits every other option available. Evryali is an energetically rhythmic piece that bursts into a chaotic roar of crashing chords, traversing the piano's range and achieving maximum volume. Dikhthas is also heavily dependent on loud, percussive playing, though the violin's glissandi and pitch-bending provide the microtones that are integral to Xenakis' sound and add a welcome timbral contrast. Herma, constantly shifting in mood with wildly variable gestures, is regrettably like many other avant-garde solo piano pieces. A kind of mini-concerto, Palimpsest is the most characteristic work on the disc, full of the sonic mayhem and ritualistic patterns for which Xenakis is best known. Mists darts everywhere, as if actively pursuing ideas only to find that they dissipate when grasped. A.r., the briefest piece, is a rapid toccata extrapolated from a fragment by Ravel, though the overpowering result is unlike anything by that composer. by Blair Sanderson